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Introducing – On the Record's DJ Booth for Monday July 14, 2008– A List Of Worthy Songs New And Old

July 14, 2008 4:02 PM

Here is a new segment for “On the Record.”  Since I enjoy making lists, I figured I’d start regularly recommending songs I’ve been listening to.  As you will see below, the list is broken down into three categories. 

Current means that the song is from this year or late last year.  In other words, it’s from an album still in my current rotation. 

Older covers everything from two years back to the early eighties. 

Vintage is anything from the seventies and before.   

The goal here is to discuss music that I haven’t been able to cover in the album reviews.   Some of the tracks I list won’t necessarily be singles, thus giving attention to some deserving album tracks. In any case, it’s just some insight into what I’m listening to. 

Current:

Earlimart – “Before It Gets Better” From the album “Hymn and Her” (2008) Earlimart are an indie rock duo from Los Angeles.  Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray mostly craft gently reflective songs. “Hymn and Her” is their sixth and arguably most accessible album.  More often than not, Espinoza is the one who sings, but on “Before It Gets Better,” it is Murray’s time to shine.  In this ever expanding piano ballad, she sings of incoming doom as if she has been locked in a room for the last month listening to Aimee Mann records.  She’s sings lines like “it’s a deathtrap” and “it’s a bloodbath” with an accepting, deadpan sweetness.  The melody is sharp and the lyrics have just the right dose of knowing cynicism.  This song is well worth seeking.

N*E*R*D* - “Everyone Nose (All the Girls Standing in the Line for the Bathroom)” From the album “Seeing Sounds” (2008) I’ll admit, the first time I heard this song it kind of annoyed me, but by the fourth or fifth time, it got a little under my skin.  The repeated shouted refrain of “all the girls standing in the line for the bathroom” will probably get tiresome for some, but the level of energy is infectious.  Not only that, but on the rapped verses, there’s an old-school vibe which reminds me of hip-hop from the late eighties and early nineties.  In fact, the turntable sounding bits and the beat in combination recall De La Soul’s “Jennifa Taught Me.” It’s a track full of jazzy, peppy bounciness, even if it makes absolutely no sense at all. 

James Hunter – “Tell Her” From the album “The Hard Way” (2008) James Hunter is a smooth throwback in the best way possible.  This British singer sounds like a cross between Jackie Wilson, Sam Cooke and Bobby Darin. If you are looking for something new with a respectfully vintage sound, James Hunter is the way to go.  This track is a stellar example of his work. 

Older:

Michael Penn – “Out Of My Hands” From the album “Resigned” (1997)  It seems surprising to me that Michael Penn hasn’t become more famous as a songwriter beyond his 1989 hit “No Myth.” Sure, he’s got respect, but looking at his discography, it seems like he should’ve had a whole stack of hits. Considering his famous brother Sean, you’d expect the celebrity obsessed mainstream would pay more attention to him.  “Out of My Hands” is his best song off of his best album.  It is both soft and moving, yet there is an ever so subtle funkiness to the slowly patterned rhythm.  The bass burst that begins the track in itself is a stroke of genius. 

Black Sheep – “The Choice Is Yours (Revisited)” From the album “A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing” (1991) Speaking of nice bass lines, this track has one of the more pseudo-psychedelic backdrops that I’ve ever heard on a hip-hop record. This song is most famous for its chorus of “you can get with this, or you can get with that,” and it stands as one of the finest examples of hip-hop from its time.  It still sounds fresh today.  It’s too bad their later albums weren’t nearly as sharp.  However, in 2004, when Dres of Black Sheep reappeared in a cameo on the Handsome Boy Modeling School’s album “White People,” it was like the return of a long lost cult hero.  If he’s on top of his game, he’s a really charismatic, entertaining M.C.  Now please join me in singing along: “Engine, engine number nine, on the New York transit line.  If my train goes off the track, pick it up, pick it up, pick it up!”

Vintage:

The Everly Brothers – “Cathy’s Clown” From the album “A Date With the Everly Brothers” (1961) This song recently came back to my attention.  Written by the brothers themselves, this is one of their true gems.  The marching band verses are inspired, especially as they are paralleled with the lyrics “Here he comes.  That’s Cathy’s clown!”  It’s like a heartbroken procession, upset to discover that a former love has found a new flame.  Then the tempo shifts a little for the nice solo statement of “I’ve gotta stand tall.  You know a man can’t crawl. For when he knows he’s telling lies and he let’s them pass on by, he’s not a man at all.”  It’s one of the best moments in pop history.  The Everly Brothers are from Kentucky, and there was a little bit of twang in their voices, but the idea that they used to be considered country seems a little funny now.  They weren’t country.  They were country-influenced rock and roll.  Perhaps it’s easier to see them in rock light because elements of their style were borrowed by everyone from the Beatles, to the Byrds to Extreme.  One thing is for sure, forty-seven years after it was recorded, this song is still quite amazing. 

What do you think about these songs? 

July 14, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (1)

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Posted by: Jazz | Jul 15, 2008 4:23:14 PM

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